Books I Read: December
Reviewed by Kayla | A Paper Arrow
on
Friday, January 11, 2019
Rating: 5

Books I Read: December

Friday, January 11, 2019

December was a great reading month for me. Honestly, I was kind of worried because there was so much going on within the month, I ...

December was a great reading month for me. Honestly, I was kind of worried because there was so much going on within the month, I didn't think I'd get a ton of time to read and relax, but it was my most productive reading month all year long. Make sure to check back in on Monday for my 2018 reading recap, including challenge overviews (I completed both my Popsugar and Goodreads challenges this year!) and my favorite books of the year.

How to Be Safe* by Tom McAllister ★★☆☆☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book about a problem facing society todayBrief synopsis: Anna Crawford, a high school English teacher, was recently suspended
for an outburst in her classroom. So when a school shooter terrorizes
the school, killing and wounding several students and teachers, Anna was
the first to take blame because she had motive. Her live falls
to shreds and the sun falls from the sky. This novel accounts for the
year following the shooting and Anna's month-to-month life.See full review here.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin ★★★☆☆ POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading ChallengeBrief synopsis: There are four Gold children - Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon. As
children, they visit a fortune teller who privately tells each of them
the date of their deaths. The novel hence follows the four siblings in
chapters of their lives, and how each of them lived in various ways
because of the fortune they were given. It's a story of family, but
ultimately it's about the things we wish to believe and how they impact
our futures.See full review here.

A Wolf at the Tableby Augusten Burroughs ★★★★☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book with an animal in the titleBrief synopsis: In this memoir from Augusten Burroughs, he recounts his childhood of
fear living among a sociopathic father, a mentally ill mother, and a
brother who's described as being "not quite right." This book is
described as a prequel memoir to Burroughs' previous novel, Running with Scissors.See full review here.

Jaws by Peter Benchley ★★★★☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book set at seaBrief synopsis: When a shark begins attacking people in a small sea-side summer town,
the police chief has to make decisions between what's right and what
will keep his town afloat.See full review here.

The Martianby Andy Weir ★★★★☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book set on a different planetBrief synopsis: When a mission to Mars goes wrong, Mark Watney's entire crew believes
him dead and leaves him on the planet entirely alone. Injured and alone
on a planet with only enough items meant for a month's stay, Watney
must fight for his life on a merciless planet while NASA attempts to
bring him home safely.See full review here.

Feminists Don't Wear Pink (And Other Lies) by Scarlett Curtis ★★★★☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book with your favorite color in the titleBrief synopsis: A collection of essays, poems, and snippets about what it means to be a
feminist, including further reading and a brief history of the movement.See full review here.

No Exit by Taylor Adams ★★★★☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/ABrief synopsis:When Darby gets stranded at a remote rest area in Colorado during a
terrible snowstorm, she discovers one of the others stranded with her is
actually a psychopathic. The bigger problems - she doesn't know who it
is, who to trust, or how to escape.See full review here.

Dumplin'by Julie Murphy ★★★★★POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/ABrief synopsis: Teenage Willowdean is fat and she's not looking to change for anybody.
She exudes confidence, but when private school Bo - the cutie she works
with at the burger joint - starts giving her some extra attention, it
makes her question a lot about herself and societal perceptions. So, to
rediscover who she is, she enters the BFD beauty pageant that her mother
won years ago, and inspires so many others around her to do the same.See full review here.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ★★★★★POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book that was being read by a stranger in a public placeBrief synopsis: When Kya is six years old, her mother leaves, followed shortly by her
siblings, and eventually her father. With no one to take care of her,
she must trek miles to be able to buy one of the only foods she can cook
- grits. She begins selling mussels and smoked fish to make ends meet.
She's isolated and becomes known as the Marsh Girl to the locals, who
want much of nothing to do with her. Intertwined throughout the novel
exists a murder-mystery taking place almost two decades later.See full review here.

Peekers by Kealan Patrick Burke ★★★★☆POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/ABrief synopsis: In this 14-page short story, a man goes next door to help his neighbor with an odd request, only to discover something sinister lurking.Quick review: This story was creepy as hell, and I was honestly terrified the entire time I was reading it (even though it was like a 15 minute read). It's on Kindle Unlimited, and definitely worth the quick read.

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King & Richard Chizmar★★★★★POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/ABrief synopsis: One morning during her daily jog, 12 year old Gwendy (a mix of Gwendolyn
and Wendy) meets a mysterious stranger in the park. Though she knows
not to talk to strangers, her curiosity wins and he gifts her with a
special box filled with buttons. He warns her of the responsibility and
power that lay within the button box, and Gwendy takes it with her as
her own.See full review here.

What were your favorite December reads?

Also, let me know what you'd like to see in these monthly round-ups in the future. Am I sharing enough about the book? Do you want to know more? Tell me in the comments below!

*denotes I received the book free for review. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own.

Kayla Whitter is a 20-something INFJ and Hufflepuff. She enjoys reading avidly, binge-watching tv shows, and occasionally venturing out into the world. She can often be found drinking coffee, and eating burritos or Chick-fil-a.

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